Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., best known for its Panasonic brand products, announced it will introduce "PRO HIGH SPEED Series" 1GB and 512MB (1GB and 512MB SD cards utilize portions of the memory for copy protection and other purposes. Usable capacities are 944MB and 472MB respectively. (MB means 1,048,576 bytes).) SD Memory Cards this Fall that doubled the internal data transfer rates. These two SD Memory Cards use Panasonic's new LSI architecture and proprietary high-speed technology to achieve a data transfer speed of up to 20MB/s(When using these cards with SD-enabled products that comply with the new high-speed interface, a speed performance of up to 20MB/s can be realized.

The new-high-speed interface specification is drafted by the SD Card Association. When using them with SD-enabled products that comply with the conventional specification Ver. 1.01, the speed of performance will be up to 10 MB/s.). The new memory cards will feature distinctive, newly-designed labels and packaging. Sale of the memory cards worldwide is scheduled to begin in October. In the United States, the manufacturer's suggested retail price for the 1GB SD memory Card will be $249.99, and $119.99 for the 512MB SD Memory Card.

New Product Feature Outline: The new PRO HIGH SPEED Series SD Memory Card can achieve data transfer speeds of up to 20MB/s for an SD Memory Card when used with SD products that comply with a newly upgraded interface. Panasonic will also simultaneously launch a Cardbus compatible PC Card Adaptor as a host device to enable high- speed data transfer.The name PRO HIGH SPEED indicates that the cards provide high-level performance compatible with the standard demanded by video professionals. The basic construction of the PRO HIGH SPEED Series card is employed in the recording medium (P2 Card) used by the Panasonic professional camera DVCPRO P2 system, which delivers the exceptional tapeless video capture performance and durability required by video professionals. The fact that this professional camera has been adopted by more than 40 leading TV broadcasters and tested at the recent Athens Olympics shows its reliability of both the camera and media.

PRO HIGH SPEED Series SD Memory Cards are compatible with existing SD-enabled products. They can be used with current SD-enabled products to achieve the same maximum high-speed data transfer of up to 10MB/s as that provided by Super High Speed Series. Panasonic plans to release PRO HIGH SPEED Series Cards with doubled memory capacity in coming years.